Too late to walk out ?

[gayab]

Hi,

I work for an European client who has a presence in UK. They have assessed my working practices( too late ) and they have deemed me to be inside IR35. I am in process of discussing with them , by changing couple of things we can change the assessment to "Outcome not determined".

My question is if I decide to walk out , is it too late, given that 06th April has already passed ? My understanding is if there was an inquiry into me , all my previous years with client will also be deemed as Inside IR35 ? I understand that if this assessment was done before 06th April and I had walked, I would have been relatively ok.

Also does anyone know what exactly happens for an assessment that says " Outcome not determined" ?

Regards,

[Lance]

it's never too late to walk out.

Nobody knows exactly how this will pan out.
But if you do get investigated for previous years, I would think that your objection to the determination and immediate termination of the contract would be good evidence to support your previous determination.

[northernladuk]

it's never too late to walk out.

Not quite correct given the extra statement at the end of his question.

My question is if I decide to walk out , is it too late, given that 06th April has already passed ?

Yes it is. You have worked past April the 6th and the legislation is now in place. You are caught for the work going forward which also now makes you at risk to the work prior if the client has inside. You are caught now as you would be if you left in a month, two months, 6 months. You are on site with an inside determination.

Lances's comment is only correct in as much as it's never too late to get out and reduce the risk but yes it's too late if you want to avoid the situation you are now in.

If those changes are done to attempt to get an outside determination and are not reflected in the working practices then you've got an unsafe determination. You still have to leave. Staying with a questionable SDS is as bad as staying inside. If investigations do start up again you are at as much risk as you would have ever been. Silly situation really. If they say inside then you leave. Don't fudge it.

Much of this is on you. You should have pushed for it and if you didn't get it you don't attend site. Yes they are late but you've done nothing about it so you can't blame the client. You are as much, if not more so, to blame for the situation. Why did you start after April 6th before this was sorted?

[NotAllThere]

I think Lance is right. Walk out now and minimise the damage.

[northernladuk]

I think Lance is right. Walk out now and minimise the damage.

Better still if the OP leaves and doesn't bill for any work beyond 6th April they will be in the clear.

[Lance]

Better still if the OP leaves and doesn't bill for any work beyond 6th April they will be in the clear.

does not billing for work done after a specific date have any legal bearing on the status beforehand?
I'm not sure that it does. It might alter the risk, but only minimally if at all.

To suggest it puts them 'in the clear' is quite a leap IMO.

[NotAllThere]

Better still if the OP leaves and doesn't bill for any work beyond 6th April they will be in the clear.

Risk/benefit analysis says nah.

[jamesbrown]

Let's be clear that the risk began the moment you started working for this client. Most likely, they've always viewed the role as being inside. It's always best to get the client's view in writing if possible (e.g., a confirmation of arrangements). Of course, the other possibility is that the client is now viewing the risks differently, post April 5.

Most likely, an investigation will never happen. However, if it does, you're in a tricky spot because the client is not onside. Working beyond 5 April w/ undetermined IR35 status was really the last mistake in a series of mistakes that put you in this position. Now it's damage limitation and I agree w/ Lance regarding the next step.

[gayab]

Thank you all for your replies. I messed up by letting this go past 05th April, the client did the assessment late and I did not even know that they are planning to do it. But I am where I am and I have to look to get out of this in "safest" way possible.

Options are
1. Walk out, dont bill past 31st March. ( that is when my Ltd Co year ends )

2. Agency is sure they can move me on "new" contract with same client from March 21 ( retrospective ) and that can be carried out under Umbrella or PAYE. My concern with this is the "Master" contract still stays same so whats the point ?

3. Get client to tweak couple of answers in the Assessment and get it to the "Outcome not determined" state and carry on .

4. Get client to tweak couple of answers in the Assessment and get it to the "Outcome not determined" state and leave.

[eek]

Surely “outcome not determined” still results in being treated as inside as the agency and end client still carry the risk.

I don’t see how it changes anything

Also switching to an umbrella while great (that’s perfect going forward) doesn’t solve anything here